St. Sava Boston Weekly news & updates
September 11th, 2020
Today we honor those who died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in Shanksville, PA.

Данас одајемо почаст свим жртвама терористичког напада настрадалих 11. септрембра у Светском Трговинском Центру, Пентагону и у Шенксвилу, Пенсилванија.
Усековање главе Светог Јована Крститеља
1. Усековање главе светог Јована Крститеља. Ирод Антипа, син старога Ирода, убице младенаца Витлејемских у време рођења Господа Исуса, беше господар Галилеје у време проповеди Јована Крститеља. Беше тај Ирод жењен ћерком некога арабског кнеза Арете. Но Ирод, зли изданак од злога корена, отера своју закониту жену и незаконито узе себи за сожителницу Иродијаду, жену свога брата Филипа, који беше још у животу. Против овог безакоња уста Јован Крститељ и силно изобличи Ирода. Ирод га баци у тамницу. За време једнога пира у свом двору у Севастији Галилејској играше пред гостима Саломија, ћерка Иродијадина и Филипова. И пијани Ирод, занесен том игром, обећа играчици дати што год буде од њега искала, ма то било и половина царства. Наговорена од своје мајке Саломија заиска главу Јована Крститеља. Ирод нареди те Јована посекоше у тамници и донеше главу његову на тањиру. Ученици Јованови ноћу узеше тело свога учитеља и чесно сахранише, а Иродијада избоде иглом језик Јованов, па главу закопа на неко нечисто место. Шта је даље било с главом Јовановом може се читати под 24. фебруаром. Али убрзо постиже Божја казна ову групу злотвора. Кнез Арета, да опере част своје ћерке, удари с војском на Ирода и потуче га до ноге. Поражени Ирод би осуђен од кесара римског Калигуле на прогонство најпре у Галију а по том у Шпанију. Као изгнанци Ирод и Иродијада живеше у беди и понижењу, док се земља не отвори и не прогута их. А Саломија погибе злом смрћу на реци Сикорису (Сули). Смрт св. Јована догодила се пред Пасху, а празновање 29. августа установљено је због тога што је тога дана освећена црква, коју подигоше на гробу његовом у Севастији цар Константин и царица Јелена. У ту цркву положене су и мошти ученика Јованових: Јелисеја и Авдије.

РАСУЂИВАЊЕ
Ако посматрате како људи умиру, видећете, да смрт једнога човека обично личи на његов грех. Као што је писано: који се ножа маше, од ножа ће погинути (Мат. 26, 52). Сваки је грех нож, и обично људи бивају посечени оним грехом, који су најрадије чинили. Пример за то пружа нам и Саломија, скверна ћерка Иродијадина, која је искала и добила од Ирода главу Јована Крститеља на тањиру. Живећи у Шпанији, у граду Лериду, са изгнаним Иродом и Иродијадом, она пође једнога дана преко залеђене реке Сикориса. Лед се провали, и она паде у воду до грла. Санте леда стегоше је око грла, и она се копрцаше, играјући ногама по води, као што је некада играла у двору Иродовом. Но не може се ни дићи ни потонути, док јој оштар лед не одсече главу. Тело јој однесе вода, а главу њену донеше Иродијади на тањиру, као некад главу Јована Крститеља. Гле, како страшно смрт личи на грех учињени!

БЕСЕДА
о исцелењу човечанства раном Христовом

Раном његовом ми се исцијелисмо. (Иса. 53, 5)

Христовом раном ми се исцелисмо; тако пророк Божји прориче, и ми знамо сад, да је његово пророчанство истинито. Страдањем Христовим ми се спасосмо вечног страдања; крвљу Његовом пречистом ми се очистисмо губе греховне и оживесмо. Крв и тело наше постало је нечисто од греховних страсти; а дух наш, гнездо и извор нечистоће телесне, најпре се онечистио. Може ли се нечисто нечистим очистити? Може ли се прљаво платно опрати прљавом водом? Не може. Него само оно што је чисто може опрати оно што је нечисто. Да је род људски нечист, то и незнабошци осећају. Но они нечисто хоће да очисте нечистим, прво призивајући нечисте духове и клањајући се њима, и друго приносећи нечисте жртве, било људске или животињске. Једна кап крви пречистога Христа више може очистити род човечји него све жртве идолопоклоничке од постања света. Зашто? Зато што је крв Христова чиста, а све друго је нечисто. Лекари узимају једну кап некога оштрога лека, разблажују га, и њиме пелцују многе људе, да их предохране од болести. И крв Христову у Чаши ми разблажавамо водом, па је онда узимамо и пијемо, јер се каже, да кад прободоше тело Господа копљем изиђе крв и вода (Јов. 19, 34). Таква је сила од једне капи крви Његове, да би свет од ње могао сагорети. То је крв безгрешна, једина безгрешна; крв пречиста, једина чиста у свету. О кад би људи знали, каква је сила апсолутне чистоте! Сви нечисти од греха појурили би да се чисте Христом пречистим, и сви немоћни појурили би да се причешћују крвљу и телом Христовим; и сви неверни поверовали би у Христа. Јер ту је троје, и све троје чисто и чисти: чист дух, чиста крв, чисто тело. А само чисто може очистити нечисто; и оно што је здраво може исцелити нездраво; и оно што је моћно може подићи немоћно.
О Господе, свесилни Господе наш, очисти нас грешне раном Твојом крвавом, раном невином и пречистом. Теби слава и хвала вавек. Амин.
The Beheading of St. John the Baptist
1. THE BEHEADING OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST. Herod Antipas, son of the elder Herod, who was the slayer of the children of Bethlehem at the time of the birth of the Lord Jesus, was ruler of Galilee at the time when John the Baptist was preaching. This Herod was married to the daughter of Aretas, an Arabian prince. But Herod, an evil sprout of an evil root, put away his lawful wife and unlawfully took unto himself Herodias as his concubine, the wife of his brother Philip, who was still living. John the Baptist stood up against this lawlessness and strongly denounced Herod who then cast John into prison. At the time of a banquet in his court in Sebastia in Galilee Salome, the daughter of Herodias and Philip, danced before the guests. The drunken Herod was so taken by this dance that he promised Salome that he would give her whatever she asked of him, even though it be half of his kingdom. Being persuaded by her mother, Salome asked for the head of John the Baptist. Herod gave the order and John was beheaded in prison and his head brought to him on a platter. John's disciples took the body of their teacher by night and honorably buried it and Herodias pierced the tongue of John with a needle in many places and buried the head in an unclean place. What later happened to John the Baptist's head can be read on February 24. However, God's punishment quickly befell this group of evil doers. Prince Aretas, in order to cleanse his daughter's honor, attacked Herod with his army and defeated him. The defeated Herod was sentenced by the Roman Caesar, Caligula, to exile at first to Gaul and later to Spain. As exiles, Herod and Herodias lived in poverty and humiliation until the earth opened up and swallowed them. Salome died an evil death on the Sikaris (Sula) river. The death of St. John occurred before the Pascha [Passover] but its celebration on August 29 was established because, on that day, a church which had been built over his grave in Sebastia by Emperor Constantine and Empress Helena was consecrated. In this church the relics of John's disciples, Eliseus and Audius, were also placed.

Reflection

If you observe how men die, you would see that the death of a man usually resembles his sin. As it is written: "For all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword" (St. Matthew 26:52). Every sin is a knife and men usually are slain by that sin which they most readily committed. An example of this is given to us by Salome, the foul daughter of Herodias who asked for and received from Herod the head of John the Baptist on a platter. Living in Spain in the town of Lerida [Loredo] with the exiled Herod and Herodias, Salome set out one day across the frozen river Sikaris. The ice broke and she fell into the water up to her neck. Icebergs squeezed around her neck and she wiggled, dancing with her feet in the water as she once danced at the court of Herod. However, she was unable either to raise herself up or to drown until a sharp piece of ice severed her head. The water carried her body away and her head was brought to Herodias on a platter as was the head of John the Baptist at one time. Behold how terrible a death resembles the sin committed.

Homily
About the healing of mankind by the wounds of Christ

"And by His stripes [wounds] we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5).

We are healed by the wounds of Christ. Thus, the prophet of God prophesies and we now know that his prophecy is true. By the suffering of Christ, we have been saved from eternal suffering; by His All-pure blood, we are cleansed of the leprosy of sin and are enlivened. Our blood and body became impure from sinful passions; but our spirit, the nest and source of bodily impurity, first became impure. Can the unclean be cleansed by the unclean? Can a dirty linen be washed with dirty water? It cannot.

Only that which is clean can wash that which is unclean. Even the pagans feel that mankind is impure. But, they [the pagans] want to cleanse the impure by the impure first, by invoking impure spirits and worshipping them. And second, by offering impure sacrifices, be they human or animal sacrifices. One drop of the blood of the All-pure Christ can cleanse mankind more than all of the idolatrous sacrifices from the beginning of the world. Why? Because the blood of Christ is pure and all else is impure. Physicians take one drop of a strong remedy and diluting it, vaccinate many people with it in order to protect them from disease. We even dilute the blood of Christ in the Chalice [Cup]with water and then we take it and drink it, for it is said that when they pierced the body of the Lord with a spear "there came out blood and water" (St. John 19:34). Such is the power from one drop of His blood that, the world could be burned by it. That is the sinless blood, the only sinless blood; the blood most-pure, the only pure blood in the world.

O, if men would only know what is the power of absolute purity! All the impure ones from sin would rush to cleanse themselves by the All-pure Christ and all the helpless ones would rush to partake of the Blood and Body of Christ [Holy Communion]; and all the unbelieving would believe in Christ. For there is three and all three are pure and all three purify: pure spirit, pure blood and pure body, and only the pure can purify the impure; and that which is healthy can heal the unhealthy; and that which is powerful can raise the helpless.

O Lord, our omnipotent Lord, cleanse us sinners by Your bloody wound, by Your innocent and all-pure wound.

To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.
Недељна школа/Sunday School
Подсећамо све парохијане да школски програми Храма Светог Саве почињу у недељу, 13. септембра. Придружите нам се на Литургији у 9 ујутру, и молитви и благослову за почетак школске године.
Часови за децу ће се одржати напољу после Литургије.

A reminder for all parishioners that the Saint. Sava Cathedral School Programs start on Sunday, September 13th. Please join us for  Liturgy at 9 am, as well as prayer and blessing of the beginning of the school year.
Classes for children will be held outside following the Liturgy.
Kometa
The Kometa Serbian Children's Program has opened registration for the new school year! Please click the link below for this yearћs program plan and changes due to Covid, along with registration forms and instructions! Join us this Sunday (13th) at noon on church grounds for a registration day and meet-up!

Story time/Приче за децу
Dear all,
Our dear parishioner, Lana Balach, has started an initiative dear to our hearts, reading to our youngest parishioners. We are looking for volunteers who would join her efforts. Please record yourself, or your young readers, reading your favorite books in both Serbian and English, and submit your recording to parishoffice@stsavaboston.org by Thursday, to be published in Friday's newsletter.
Thank you in advance!
Our Community Announcements
If you have family news you would like to share with our community, please submit your listing to parishoffice@stsavaboston.org by Thursday in order to be published in our weekly news on Friday.

*No Business Advertisement*
Недеља 14. по Духовима

И одговарајући Исус опет рече им у причама говорећи: Царство је небеско као човек цар који начини свадбу сину свом.И посла слуге своје да зову званице на свадбу; и не хтеше доћи. Опет посла друге слуге говорећи: Кажите званицама: Ево сам обед свој уготовио, и јунци моји и храњеници поклани су, и све је готово; дођите на свадбу. А они не маривши отидоше овај у поље своје, а овај к трговини својој. А остали ухватише слуге његове, изружише их, и побише их. А кад то чу цар онај, разгневи се и пославши војску своју погуби крвнике оне, и град њихов запали. Тада рече слугама својим: Свадба је дакле готова, а званице не бише достојне. Идите дакле на раскршће и кога год нађете, дозовите на свадбу. И изишавши слуге оне на раскршћа сабраше све које нађоше, зле и добре; и столови напунише се гостију. Изашавши пак цар да види госте угледа онде човека необученог у свадбено рухо. И рече му: Пријатељу! Како си дошао амо без свадбеног руха? А он оћуте. Тада рече цар слугама: Свежите му руке и ноге, па га узмите те баците у таму најкрајњу; онде ће бити плач и шкргут зуба. Јер су многи звани, али је мало избраних.
14th Sunday after Pentecost

And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said: “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.”’ But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’ So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.”